NZ politician blames Paris terror attack on its victims

NEW Zealand's Maori Party distanced itself from former candidate Derek Fox after he controversially blamed the victims of the Paris terror attacks for their deaths.

Mr Fox said on Facebook that the editor of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo had "paid the price" for his "bigotry" and "arrogance".

He stood by his comments, and said if the magazine had not published gratuitous insults, the victims "would still be alive now".

"But they didn't, in fact they ramped it up to sell more mags. Well, they got bitten severely on the bum."

Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris

Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox said Mr Fox's views did not match the Maori Party's, and she condemned the violence in Paris.

She did not know whether he was still a paid-up member but said he was only "loosely connected" to the party "after all these years".

Mr Fox ran for the Maori Party in Ikaroa-Rawhiti six years ago but is also a leading Maori journalist, former Maori Television chairman and former mayor of Wairoa.

He wrote on Facebook that Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier was a "bully" who had abused free speech and was now responsible for the deaths of his colleagues.

"The editor of the French magazine has paid the price for his assumption of cultural superiority and arrogance, he was the bully believing he could insult other people's culture and with impunity and he believed he would be protected in his racism and bigotry by the French state.

"Well he was wrong, unfortunately in paying the price for his arrogance he took another 11 people with him."

Mr Fox continued: "Power cultures all like to use the old chestnut of freedom of speech when they choose to ridicule people who aren't exactly like them, and mostly they get away with it.

"These guys liked the privilege but didn't think they'd be caught up in the ramifications - they were wrong."

The post attracted strong criticism. National Party list MP Chris Bishop said it was a "horrific, ridiculous, shameful comment", adding that support of freedom of speech was a human right, not "cultural supremacy".